After 25 years, WMCR and Mix106's Joel Meltzer leaving Oneida

By Nick Will

Saturday, August 31, 2013

ONEIDA >> After 25 years at WMCR in Oneida, Operations Manager Joel Meltzer has stepped down. After leading the station, handling the news and being the voice of "Open Line" community call-in forum for almost twenty years, Meltzer will be moving to Florida and returning to the non-management side of media work.

Meltzer said he is unsure what he will be doing and doesn't already have a job lined up. He feels confident, however, that he will be able to find freelance work in the Sunshine State.

"I don't really think of it as moving on to a new job," Meltzer said. "I'm moving to a new adventure. I'm confident that something will turn up."

Meltzer followed in the footsteps of Mike Healey (now the community relations director of Oneida Healthcare), who used to do the "Open Line" program at the station two decades ago. He said he has enjoyed his time at Mix 106 serving the community and helping people in the area in any way that he could. He said that the greatest experience he will take away from the job is the people he has met both on and off the air.

"I have made friends at this show whom I haven't even met in person," Meltzer said. "Just frequent callers that call in all the time. It interesting to see the impact that a program like this can have on its community."

Meltzer said that one of his favorite memories of the show was an afternoon back when Army Carinci was the mayor of Oneida and a caller called in to complain about potholes that riddled some of the city's parking lots downtown. Carinci called in right afterward, saying 'Don't worry, we'll fix it.' Sure enough, Meltzer said that while he was driving through downtown Oneida that same afternoon, he saw city crews repairing one of the parking lots near the Post Office.

Ideally, Meltzer said that if he continues to work in media, he will avoid management positions, possibly pursuing writing.

"As operations manager, there's always a lot to do around the studio," Meltzer said. "There are a lot of responsibilities with the title. I want to move away from that."

Tom Saccocio Jr., who goes by the on-air moniker, "Tom Sawyer," will be taking over the operations manager position, which comes with the "Open Line" program. He has been mostly behind the scenes for the last three weeks and will be taking over for Meltzer next week on September 3.

Sawyer has been working in radio since the 1980s, hopping from Big Frog's rock and news programs including WHEN in Syracuse, Y94 FM, Rock 107, and B104.7. He also manages a production company that makes radio commercials.

Sawyer there are no plans to change anything about "Open Line", except its host; it will keep the same call-in format.

"I think ""Open Line"" is great," Sawyer said. "It's what radio used to be, providing people an opportunity to get their voices heard on the air. I'm not going to change that or guide that in one way or another. I'm just there to be a conversationalist, like someone you would have a conversation with at a local SavOn."

To hear his programs on WMCR, Mix 106, tune in on weekdays from noon to 12:30 for ""Open Line"" or for his afternoon shows from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sawyer will be manning the booth on weekends as well, running shows from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturdays and 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays.